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Re: Flea Beetles (was tomato discussion)

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

I have six eggplant seedlings ready to go into the garden, where there are
already some flea beetles feasting happily on turnip greens and radish
leaves.  Since the eggplants won't be in a row, I'm thinking of just draping
them artistically with a light row cover until they're a little bigger.
They're pretty sturdy so I don't think the row cover will weigh on them too
heavily, and I don't have the right material to make a cage at this exact
moment.  Thanks for the help on shooing them away from established plants.  So
far this year they haven't been as predatory as I expected, but I know that
eggplants drive them into a frenzy.  I like the sticky-paper idea, and will
try it if the damage to my root crops gets past the annoying-but-tolerable
stage.

Mary in WI
Zone 4 (Appleton)

margaret lauterbach wrote:

> Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
> Mary, I usually cover rows when I transplant. I don't think there are even
> larvae of flea beetles in bare dirt. But I only cover eggplants, since
> that's the favorite dish of flea beetles. I cover whole rows. Getting rid
> of them is tough, but one suggestion that sounds good to me is to fasten a
> yellow sticky paper or cardboard on ping-pong paddles and use one hand to
> disturb the row, holding the paddle just above and to the side (not far
> away). Capture as many as you can before putting down row cover. Some
> people suggest using flour, but I think that can create one heck of a mess.
> Especially if it rains. Flea beetles tend to die out after a while, and
> when crops are more mature they don't bother them as much. You may have to
> grit your teeth, though. Margaret L


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